PL: Fashion and style are two very different things to me. Francesco Clemente once said to me fashion is the quest for perfection and style is the acceptance of one’s flaws. I completely agree with this. I love style. I love seeing the way different people dress, how they put things together, how they deviate from the current trends, what they are referencing, and what this says about them and who they are.
Style is a way of communication. Fashion has much more to do with money, retail and commercialism. You can buy fashion. You can’t buy style. It’s just something that is part of you. A girl can have style wearing a sweater she found in her mother’s closet and her boyfriend’s hat. It’s all about how you wear it and how you feel in what you wear. Of course, I love beautiful clothes. But my jobs are so messy that most of the time I have to wear some beat-up jeans and an old t-shirt. So for me style is very important!

UO: If you could learn to do anything, what would it be and why?

PL: Play the harmonica. Because you can take it anywhere, play it anywhere and it makes any song instantly heartbreaking.

UO: Sources of inspiration, or places you go for inspiration in your work?

PL: Art is a huge inspiration for me. Museums and galleries. Artists like Van Eyck, Hieronymus Bosch, Joseph Cornell and Lee Bontecou. Traveling is really important. Seeing other parts of the world, for my jewelry especially. I am really inspired by folk jewelry and adornment from around the world — Native American tribes, Mexico, India, Russia, Spain, Turkey and Thailand. I also find a lot of inspiration at flea markets, antique and oddities stores — as well as in the imagery of mythology, religions from around the world, magic and mysticism. Music has a huge influence on me as well.